Hair Repair

Some cases of hair loss and hair graying could be reversible. Mice that overproduce a particular stress hormone experience excess abdominal fat, digestive problems, and balding. When scientists gave these mice the drug astressin-B—which blocks stress-hormone receptors—to treat their gastrointestinal symptoms, the mice unexpectedly grew back a full coat of thick, shiny hair within two weeks. In addition, their bald, pink skin first changed in pigment to gray, so "we hypothesize that this compound may also affect gray hair," says Lixin Wang, assistant researcher in the department of medicine at UCLA. It's unclear if the drug will work in people, but mice and humans have similar stress pathways in their skin and hair, says study coauthor Yvette Taché, professor of medicine in the digestive disease division at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine.